John graner



(No Model J. GRANER. MACHINE FOR OBTAINING VFIBER PROM'AQUATIG PLANTS. No. 425,318.

Patented Apr.8,1890.'

INZ'ENTOR HITNESSES r from Aquatic Plants; and I do declare the fol- UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

JOHN GRANER, OF NEN ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO SOLOMON STERN,

OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FOR OBTAINING FIBER FROM AQUATIC PLANTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 425,318, dated April 8, 1890.

Application filed November 11, 1889. Serial No. 329,880. (No man.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN GRANER, a citizen of the United States, residing atNew Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Obtaining Fiber lowing to be a full, clear, and exact deserip-' tion of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in machines for removing pulp from aquatic plants and obtaining the fiberthereof, in which a drum with combs placed thereon is made to operate in conjunction with feed, pressure, and discharge rollers; and the object of my invention is to provide a device whereby marsh-weedssuch as bulrushes, flags, and other aquatic plants-may have their fiber removed. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal section. Fig. 2 is a side view of the relief-roller. Fig. 3 is a side view of the feed-rollers.

Si milar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views;

In constructing my invention 1 use a drum A, which is from two to four feet in diameter, and, say, three feet in length. Upon said drum are placed staves, upon which are placed metalteetl1,' say, one andone-half'iuch in length These are arranged in groups with vacant spaces between the groups, although they may be placed in a continuous series around the drum. The drum A is placed upon a frame designated E. In close proximity to drum A, I place two feed-rollers B B, which are corrugated or fluted, and are caused to rotate in unison by means of cog-wheels M M on the ends of the shafts N N, as shown in Fig. 3. These feed-rollers are from two and onehalf to four inches in diameter.

C is a pressure roller or brush, as shown in Fig. 1, upon which are bristles.

D is a discharge or relief roller, over which the fiber is carried into a discharge-chute H.

G is an open space within the sheet-iron cover K, and F is a feed-table.

The mode of operation is as follows: The bulrushes, flags, or other aquatic plants when out are placed upon the feed-table F and motion is given to the drum A by means of a belt, (not shown, but placed upon a pulley on the end of the drum-shaft O,) and the feed, press- 11 re, and relief rollers being rotated in a similar manner, or otherwise, in the directions indicated by the arrows, the weeds are fed upon the drum after passing between the corrugated rollers B, and when in this broken condition the fiber is combed out in thin strips varying from four to six feet in length, the pressure brush or roller O holding it in close proximity to the comb-drum A, while the relief or discharge roller D carries the fiber from off the comb-dru 111 A into the dischargechute H, and I am thus enabled to produce a fiber suitable for all the purposes for which exeelsior is now used, and at a much less price.

A striking advantage of the product is that it may be placed upon a spinning-machine and spun, and articles-such as rope and matsmade therefrom, in addition to its use for upholstering purposes.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a fiber-machine such as described, the combdrum A, in combination with feed-rollers B, pressure-roller C, and relief-roller D,

' for obtaining the fiber and removing the pulp from aquatic plants, as set forth.

2. In a fiber-machine such as described, the feed-table F, in combination with comb-drum A, feed-rollers B, rollers O and D, and chute H, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN GRANER.

W'itnesses:

SoLoMoN PERCY D. PARKS. 

